The queen is dead

Forgive me, but as a reader and writer of historical fiction, the death of Hilary Mantel is more upsetting than the death of Queen Elizabeth who, at least, was 96 and in frail health and although upsetting, was certainly not a surprise to anyone.

Hilary Mantel was 70, and as far as we knew, healthy. She had many more books in her - and apparently at least one in progress.

Her Wolf Hall books are an amazing achievement. They changed the way I looked at Thomas Cromwell and the writing of history generally.

My only consolation is that she has quite a back catalog that I have not read yet, so until I do, she isn't truly gone.